One of the tragic things about Mariolatry and the cult of the saints isn’t so much what it says about Mary etc. but what it says about Jesus.  Even if Mary or St. Christopher or whoever can hear the prayers of millions and pass them all up to her son, and even if they could care personally about each one, Jesus still cares more.  And Jesus is able to hear as well as Mary can.  And it isn’t like asking a Christian to pray for you because you see and interact with them, whereas in the case of Mary you are simply invoking her name in prayer.

So why not just appeal to Jesus?

But this post isn’t about Roman Catholics it is about us Reformed.  Understandably we have a team name that indicates that we aren’t sending up prayers to the mythical virgin in the sky.  Wonderful.  But, going along with this post title, maybe Jesus wants to be your personal Westminster Confession.  Maybe he wants to be your most inspiring Presbyterian author.  Maybe he wants you to talk about him with the same sense of belonging that you feel toward NAPARC.

Of course, it isn’tas obviously a serious matter as communicating with the dead.  God wants us to respect teachers and they do help us understand the Bible in a way that is more rational and ethical than Mary’s alleged role in praying for us (or only for Roman Catholics and/or Eastern Orthodox perhaps) .

But is there anywhere in the Bible that indicates that you are supposed to be pouring over commentaries and theology books the way you do?  Are we supposed to be invoking the name of Calvin (not to mention the odious errorist Kline) as often as that of Jesus?

And yes, creeds and confessions are a great idea, though one might question the practical usefulness of ones that are so long that many forget half the content and then use their favorite “prooftexts” to condemn those who have studied more of it as heterodox.

But there has to be a way to use the denominational confessions Christianly, rather than in a way that sounds like we are screaming “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.”

It has become really easy in our circles to point to the flaws of “no creed but Christ” as if there is really no risk in over-reliance on church traditions.  That is an interesting place to be at about five hundred years after the Reformation.

And the truth is, I have no global solution.  Like I indicated above, the borders between respecting church authority and evading Biblical authority are not as clearly demarcated.  But I think each person can start following Gandhi’s dictum (sorry!) to be the change they want to see in the world.

Read the Bible a lot.  Focus on Jesus and the Bible as much as possible both in one’s family, church, and with unbelievers.

Wish I had something more cool to recommend.

But Jesus wants to be your personal Francis Turretin. This isn’t about hearing the preached word.  That is something Jesus has plainly delegated.  But when you pick up a book that isn’t the Bible, you at least need to ask yourself if there is a good reason why you made the choice and when you plan to get back to the former.

And when you start naming yourself after these dead saints and invoking their name virtually every time when it is appropriate to talk about Jesus or the Church or His Word, you need to consider your steps.